Notre-Dame Chancel Carpet Book

Among the little-known treasures kept at Notre-Dame is this carpet with its grandiose decoration. When in 2014, the large Savonnerie carpet from the choir of Notre-Dame was exhibited in the nave, no one had been able to see, nor admire for almost thirty years, this sumptuous weaving whose exact origin was forgotten, some mentioning the "Coronation carpet [of Napoleon I, 1804]", others even doubting that it is still preserved at Notre-Dame.

His presentation was an event that will be repeated this year. Its rare decor with its strong religious symbolism, its exceptional dimensions, almost 200 m2, make it one of the most remarkable pieces of the famous Savonnerie factory. Commissioned in 1825, the first year of the reign of Charles The king of the French only fulfilled a decision taken by the last king of France.

The prince's birth in 1838 was marked by a no less prestigious royal gift: a "complete ornament in cloth of gold", a set of liturgical vestments. A similar ornament had been acquired by the cathedral a few years earlier in 1825 thanks to the largesse of Charles X shortly after his coronation, another offered a few years later in 1856 by Napoleon III for the baptism of his son, the Prince Imperial.

This carpet and these liturgical vestments are associated with the great times of the cathedral in the 19th and 20th centuries, from liturgical solemnities to the highlights of French history celebrated at Notre-Dame, under the Restoration, the July Monarchy, the Second Empire, the successive republics.

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✔ 19.5 cm high
✔ 52 pages
✔ Book in both French and English 
✔ Exclusively for Notre-Dame de Paris

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